Silver Mirage
by E.Elysium
Summary: One-shot. Letting go so something can begin. Time is no longer a privilege, all of his sins and sacrifices will no longer haunt him. What's left now is to see the silver-haired female one last time. The final moments of Uchiha Itachi's life. ItachiXOC


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_*Manga spoiler up from chapter 384 (give or take a few) I only own the character Kagami Metsuki._

_****Words in Italic are thoughts/visions/flashbacks. Italics with "-V-" at the beginning/end are visions, Italics with "F" at the beginning/end are Flashbacks.  
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**Silver Mirage. **

**Uchiha Itachi one-shot

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The final moments of Uchiha Itachi's life.

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_"The foolishness of violence is that at times we underestimate our foe. The foolishness of love is that we lose ourselves in the darted emotion, which only causes more suffering in the end."_

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Knees propped up and pressed up on her chest, arms curled around into a makeshift shield as she sat with her back against the wall.

Her long and untrimmed silver locks spilled and curtained around her, further enhancing the imaginary defense she constructed. Soft and ghostly mutterings filled and echoed off the half-lit room, words that were so low no one but the speaker could comprehend.

Her hands were fisted tighter against her bent knees as the visions behind her closed eyelids flickered quicker and quicker, each lasting merely seconds. Breathing became an even more laborious task. Pants were more noticeable. Words that tumbled out of her pink lips turned less incoherent.

_It's coming…_

_It's coming…_

_Get away…_

_Stop…_

Every muscle in her body strained in morbid anticipation as she waited for the inevitable ending.

_No._

_Don't stop._

_Don't hesitate._

_**Kill him.**_

She could taste it at the tip of her tongue, the finale of the showdown. The ultimate challenger that would rise and claim his victory…

_It's coming…_

The door to the room creaked open and knocked off her concentration. She gasped in surprise as her eyes flew open.

_No…_

_The vision…_

_It's…_

_It's gone…_

Her eyes slid shut again as she tried to call back the images. It was a futile attempt; darkness was all that flitted behind her eyelids. The vision was gone.

Without anything to direct her attention, she uttered a soft sigh of disappointment and slowly opened her eyes again to acknowledge the new presence. Stormy, grey orbs lifted to gaze back at the mesmerizing dark eyes.

"Itachi."

Her words came out low and weak, her hand reached and slipped into her hair as she pushed the hair back away from her face. The shadowed figure pushed the door shut slowly and approached her, each step slow and calculative.

Itachi stopped in front of the still sitting female, withdrew an arm from within his black cloak, and tossed something out to her. The silver-haired slid her cupped hands and cradled the fallen object with ease.

An apple.

The lips twitched unconsciously as she raised her head up to meet the eyes of the Uchiha. "To what do I owe a gift and a visit from Uchiha Itachi today?"

The candles that lit up the room was dim, but just enough for both of them to see each other clearly. She was smiling, but the radiance it had once executed was gone. Being kept in a room without exposure to the outside world overtime had long taken away the life inside her.

"I'm leaving."

Metsuki blinked, letting the words recount in her mind several times before the meaning came through. The earlier vision she had was making sense already, the images that flashed past.

-V-

_Mangekyou Sharingan._

_Permanent power._

_Last time._

-V-

Her eyes turned back to the apple as she nodded slowly.

So he already knew…

He knew she was aware of what was _going to happen_…

Her fingers toyed and drew circles on the surface of the apple as a mocking smile spread across her features. "My last apple…"

He showed no intentions of correcting her statement, a fact she herself knew. Metsuki had meant for the words to be a reminder on the future she suspected he already knew. Her hands played with the fruit as he watched her silently.

Kagami Metsuki was a weird girl – with an unnaturally bad luck to be caught by the Akatsuki while using her foresight ability. He remembered the first few weeks of her capture, Deidara had complained about her refusal to consume anything and eventually drove him into the brink of insanity and the blonde clay artist had promptly forced open her mouth and stuffed food in – earning teeth marks on his hand and bruises on her hands.

The duty of being her keeper was eventually passed on to Itachi, though Deidara had since found extreme joy in bickering with her and visited her occasionally.

Mildly aware of his stare, Metsuki adverted up her gaze to the Uchiha. Her nimble curiosity overtook as she cast aside the apple, stood up, and back against the wall behind her.

Her facial features were plain and ordinary, but that was what brought out and complimented her best physical attribute.

She had exceptional eyes.

Passionate, grey orbs like a double-edged sword. Her eyes had an enticing shade that prompts a person to look further in. But once the person does, the captivating effect it protrudes turns dangerous. The attracting but suspicious quality sometimes makes it harder _not _to turn away.

"I trust that you have a logical reason for seeking death?"

She had always found the enigmatic Uchiha prodigy a mystery. Itachi never did things he found unnecessary, yet the things he did had others questioning whether his intentions were logical or insane.

He was like a mystery, a mystery destined left unsolved. And despite the desire to understand, she had long learned and accepted the fact.

But to reach a goal in exchange for his life was too much for her to keep silent.

If Itachi was reluctant to share more, his composure didn't show. His eyes closed as he pondered over the question.

"I made my point clear, you've seen it haven't you?"

-V-

"_Surpass the invincible Madara and achieve true immortality is me."_

"_YOU WILL BECOME MY NEW LIGHT!"_

"_YOU WILL BE MY SPARE!"_

-V-

His eyes slid open and gazed at her blatantly, stare daring her to disagree. He had a demanding presence, something he knew and used it to his advantage well. She was so close to breaking down under his close scrutiny.

But this was the last time, what good will it do if she were to leave her questions willing unanswered?

Metsuki took a step closer to him and challenged him ostentatiously, defiance surging through her like fire. Her faint smile was agonizingly bitter as she tilted her head to the side in mock questioning.

"What will you say if I told you that I didn't believe in all the things you would say later?"

The vision…

She could still remember fragments of the vision earlier before. The face of pure insanity and power-hungriness felt like it had done so much injustice on Itachi. It felt… unreal. Didn't look one single bit like the raven-haired male in front of her.

It… couldn't be the real him… could it?

He saw the small hint of uncertainty in her eyes despite her confident posture. Seizing the opportunity that had presented itself, Itachi moved a step forward, forcing her to accept what she saw in her moment of confusion. His head angled lower as he whispered softly.

"What makes you think I'm not pretending right now?"

Metsuki's head reached just a little above his eyes, thus the need to tip her head to keep eye contact much to her annoyance.

But right now, nothing in her was thinking straight.

He was standing closer than he had ever been, closer than anyone had been for too long. That, along with the already intoxicating aura around him was more than enough for her head to spin. Whatever Itachi had been striving for behind his movement was working. Her mind was confused not only by the physical closeness between them, but he had succeeded in planting the seeds of hesitation in her.

This was a side she had never seen; he was forcing his presence into her. And it was working.

The Uchiha didn't know what had spurred him on to push her further. Perhaps the desire to see how she would judge him. It was, after all, his final few moments. He should have the right to do something reckless in his life at least once.

Discouraged and seemingly put-out, Metsuki breathed a soft sigh and shook her head gently. "You're never going to tell me aren't you?"

His eyes held mild amusement as he answered. "I see no point in doing so."

They were so close that their words had died down into whispers. She wasn't moving away, while his eyes weren't showing any signs of rejection.

Something in the air thickened the tension between. He was suddenly a little more aware of the close proximity than before. She was feeling edgier by the pressure coming from unknown sources.

She broke eye contact and lowered her gaze unknowingly to the firm line on his lips. When her eyes swept up and caught the darkening of his stare, the dam of self-awareness broke.

With the sudden urge and carelessness, Metsuki closed her eyes and stood on balls of her feet to close up the distance between them, her movement was unhurried and sure.

It was like a silent agreement had been made between the two to keep the first kiss light. He had isolated himself for so many years and she had been locked up too long that physical contact seemed so very strange and unfamiliar.

For a while, none of them had the rational mind to pull away. The tiny but lethal contact had his defence faltering little by little, as time passed. The self-control Itachi had taken pride in wavered as he dipped his head slightly lower, his lips adding just a little more pressure on hers. No one made any movements to take things up to a higher level, but that was just enough – for now.

It wasn't much, but it was a start.

Itachi kept his hands where they were while Metsuki kept hers placed firmly on the wall behind her for support. The contact lasted for merely a short period before she drew back gradually when her feet grew sore, her heart palpitating at an exhilarating rate. Her eyes slid open slowly, savouring the last of the moment.

"I just kissed the almighty Uchiha prodigy." A pause as she flashed a childish smile to dispel any possible awkward tension. "If you weren't an S-class criminal I might actually get pummelled by your mob of admirers."

Gaze that were trained on the curve of her lips, lifted to study her eyes.

His right hand reached up to touch the curve of her cheek daintily, eyes roaming over her face while he took in every detail. Her eyelids fell in bliss as she savoured the warmth of his hand, head inclined unconsciously towards his touch.

His calloused hand felt flush in contrast to her skin. Fingers tracing smoothly down her cheek to her jaw, he gently nudged her head up and leaned in again.

Burning, scalding, immensely tempting. Nothing could describe the burst of energy that bustled through her system. Each movement made was painfully slow, magnetic. She couldn't stop the hand that rose to clasp over his hand that cradled her face.

Lips moulded, Metsuki's mind registered nothing but the growing intensity of the pressure. Her free hand itched to be somewhere, but the last rationality in her had opposed. Itachi traced the length of her arm up and pressed on the side of her waist.

The tingling sensation left by the trail was enough for her to lose the last of her senses. Her palm ran from his elbow, his shoulder and stopped the base of his neck. A final step forward, and she had closed up any distance left in between.

Euphoria.

Her seeking lips were masked with unabashed curiosity. Lips parted willingly, and he surged in. One hand curved around the nape of her neck, tangled into her hair while the other pushed lightly at her hips and pressed her against the wall. The hand on his face moved slightly to play with the tendrils of his raven locks and the other moved to lock on his shoulders.

Each movement made was bold, confident, and sent her mind into a dizzying fit. She couldn't think anymore, not when everything around her seemed to swirl and twist, leaving only the two of them standing. The kisses turned more burning, more intense, stripping her off her sanity and pressed forward without hesitation.

He baited her, poisoned her sensibility, and lured her out of her comfort zone. Not only was she pushed into a dead end, but he had also been left with her at the point of no return.

He didn't know how long the kiss lasted, but it wasn't enough. Her head moved away an inch and she drew in a sudden sharp intake of breath. Metsuki pressed her forehead to his shoulders, eyes forced shut as she waited for the numbness to settle over the searing pain.

Her senses reeled back, and the first words that entered her mind were undesirable.

Reality.

_-F-_

"_Promise me something…"_

"_If push comes to shove, I hope you will be the one to deliver the blow." _

_-F-_

His hands withdrew back to his sides and he took a small step back, all the while never breaking gazes with the silver-haired Akatsuki prisoner. For once, Itachi couldn't see what was behind those eyes of hers.

Metsuki stared emptily at the raven-haired Uchiha as her body struggled to force down gurgling force charging up her throat, her tongue tasted some of the metallic liquid that had surface.

With a wry grin, she tipped her head down in a bow. "Thank you."

It was the two words that spoke and accounted for everything else. The simple phrase was enough for him to take a final glance at her before turning and taking a step away.

And another step…

And another…

Her eyes followed his every movement until the door final clicked shut. Sliding down to the floor again, Metsuki reached for the forgotten apple and brought it up in front of her. Her hands cushioned the fruit and she wordlessly stared at it.

Time seeped through her fingers while the wound slowly stained and coloured the dress scarlet. Delicate was her movement as she brought the apple up with a hand and kissed the surface chastely. Her voice was velvet and smooth.

"I'll see you later… Itachi."

With only the final words, her eyelashes swept down and Kagami Metsuki fell into the Elysium.

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_I know in reality we can't be together, so I just close my eyes and you're right here with me..._

_In my dreams, you're mine forever._

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fin.

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This was originally the first story I ever thought of, but the idea of having such a complicated character in my first story scared me. So I compressed the plot and turned it into a one-shot a long time ago. Yes, OoC moments are probably still noticeable here, since it's my first actual one-shot. A little rough around the edges, but I have no intentions of rewriting it again.

I'm stuck on Broken Bonds. It's facing a mid-life crises... I figured if I can't get it out soon, then this one-shot will be an early Christmas gift no?

Apologies for the overdued update for the other two ongoing stories, nothing seems to go well in my life these days *grumbles*


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